Lycan's Prey by Jessica Hall

Chapter 137

“Aubrey? What are you doing in here?” Her voice is soft, but | can hear the tension beneath it as her bottom lip trembles, choking on emotion.

“I… I was just looking,” I stammer, unable to meet her gaze, but now I am curious. “Mom, why did you stop talking to Grandma?”

A heavy silence falls between us. I finally look up, and the sadness etched on her face makes my heart clench.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, sweetheart,” she says, sinking onto the edge of the bed.

“What do you mean?” I ask, my mind racing. “What happened?”

As I struggle to remember, a memory surfaces – bright and vivid. “We were at Grandma’s house. Me and Brielle, on our

bikes…”

Mom nods, her eyes glistening. “You were eleven.”

The scene unfolds in my mind like a forgotten photograph coming into focus. There we are, me and my sister, our smiles as wide as the summer sky above Granny’s house. We sat astride our bikes, hers was bubblegum pink, mine cobalt blue, both gleaming beneath the sun. That same bike became the instrument of unspeakable loss on the day she never came home.

I swallow hard, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill. “I

||| 0 <

Chapter 137

how excited we were that day.”

reaches out, taking my hand in hers. “It’s okay, Aubrey.

threatens to

see it all so clearly now; Grandma was on the porch, watching us. Brielle and I were chasing each

merciless. Grandma’s flower–print dress flutters in the breeze, her hand shading her eyes as she watches us. Brielle’s pigtails bounce as she pedals furiously, always just out of my

pierces the air, followed by a sickening bang. I spin around, seeing Grandma running towards us, her face contorted in horror. But Brielle…

at first. People were running out of their houses, and then… oh God.

twisted grotesquely around her bike.

falling to my knees and grasping

hurts. It hurts.” she wails. “Why can’t I move?” she murmurs, and my eyes move

Chapter 137

1208 Vouchers

the ground, and

she whispers.

I tell her, trying to keep my voice steady as my childlike mind

her lips. I glance around nervously. “You’re

fill the air. “Someone call an ambulance! Please,